Undeniable Darkness
by November Has Come
Summary: After losing his powers, Ichigo returns to everyday life. But his new life in Tokyo isn't as it appears on the surface as ghouls stir and an uncontrollable darkness reappears inside him. On hiatus
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul_

Chapter 1

Ichigo Kurosaki scowled.

If someone else on the bus bothered to look over they would see a young, orange haired teen, scowling at the roof of the bus like it had viciously insulted him.

What they didn't see, was a powerful ex-Shinigami, thinking deeply on the most satisfying way to punch his father the next time he saw him.

Isshin Kurosaki was an annoyance at the best of times but his stupidity frustrated his son to no end. After Ichigo had lost his powers the previous year he had comfortably slipped into normal life again, the worries and problems of the Shinigami didn't trouble him anymore and never again would.

And that would have been fine. It had been what he wanted for a long time.

But at the same time it wasn't.

But as they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And Ichigo had been powerful, growing more and more powerful as each battle passed him by. And he got used to it, knowing that he could fulfil his desire to protect.

But even as Ichigo told himself that in his mind, he found the power alluring. That he decided who lived and died on his mercy. That he could swing his blade and reshape the terrain.

He never had the time nor the drive to capitalise on this power, between fighting off hollows and foes that crawled out the woodwork every other week.

That one battle, the peak of their powers. And Ichigo enjoyed it. The stakes, the power that could level mountains at their whim.

But he had to win, at any cost. At to that end, he gave it up. Used all his power in a desperate last attack.

And then it was gone. All the strength.

He was powerless. He couldn't fight sprits anymore, not without it. So Ichigo was left behind. Not intentionally but abandoned all the same. The Shinigami lost interest in him, hollows ignored him. He found that the friends he had brought into the circle, as soon as he stepped out of the circle, they closed it behind him.

He couldn't help them. Not anymore. They reassured him they were still friends, but he hated that feeling when they all disappeared to chase a hollow, and left him behind.

It infuriated him. But he never told anyone. To admit it aloud was to recognise that he had enjoyed his time as a Shinigami. That he had fallen for his power.

Ichigo was bitter. He felt alone. Abandoned.

So, when his father told him that he had gotten him into Kamii University in the 20th ward of Tokyo, he was secretly glad.

A new start, away from the memories and reminders of what he could never reclaim.

Isshin had proposed the idea that Ichigo attend Kamii University and Ichigo had put up the façade of complaining that he'd rather stay at Karakura than leave for Tokyo.

He'd pretended that he'd didn't want to go, faked slowly being convinced and grudgingly accepting.

Ichigo was glad. A way to distance himself from his previous life without upsetting his friends.

So now, here he was, on the bus approaching the area where his new apartment was located. Isshin had agreed to pay the first month of rent while Ichigo got his bearings but he'd have to get a job to continue renting.

Ichigo hid his thoughts behind a scowl.

When he finally disembarked the bus and took in the city, it was a literal breath of fresh air.

The city was a thriving metropolis. Even in the dead of night, the people moved like gears in a machine. Each part living its own existence separately yet dependant on each other.

The neon that appeared so commonly in mega-cities like Tokyo lit the streets with bright, glowing light. The whir and shriek of cars speeding through the streets, the hum of crowd chatter accumulated into a complete nuisance to Ichigo's ears

Unaccustomed to the busy thrum of Tokyo, he wandered through the streets, tightly gripping his suitcase. Ichigo's tall frame led to him having to carefully navigate through the crowd, resisting the urge to roar in frustration and just bowl through the crowds.

He eventually found the apartment, thanks to the streets signs and asking a multitude of different people for directions.

Ichigo set his suitcase down and sat on the dusty mattress of his new apartment. It was small, cramped even but not so that he'd make a fuss about it.

He scowled. Now he just had to find a job.

But that would have to be done tomorrow, right now it was late and he was exhausted. Ichigo slipped from his upright position to lying down. Too tired to bother with covers, he shifted his pillow before settling and closing his eyes, scowl slowly dropping as he was lulled into a light sleep.

Ichigo woke early the next morning, sitting up quickly, before relaxing slightly. He stood from the bed, shaking the stiffness from his muscles and joints.

Checked the time and stretched. 6:47, it was Sunday, so it was best that he find a job before his time at Kamii started. Ichigo yawned as he pulled his toothbrush out before going through the mundane morning rituals, changing out of his clothes from yesterday and slipping on comfortable casual wear.

He left the apartment, absently strolling down the streets of Tokyo, inspecting any and all businesses.

To his aggravation and growing frustration, he couldn't find a single place offering a job. Ichigo scowled, he didn't know what to look for or where he should be looking. He just knew he needed a job to pay the rent.

But the large population in Tokyo made finding an unoccupied position incredibly difficult.

After hours of mindless wandering and mentally cursing to himself, Ichigo decided he needed a break. His father had told him before he left that he'd better get used to caffeine, whatever that meant, so Ichigo decided to head to the nearest café.

Asking a local residents for directions before jogging down the indicated street until he reached the café.

Anteiku.

It was quaint, he supposed, small but warm. Pleasant and homely. Ichigo fought to keep the displeasure on his face, refusing to acknowledge the comfortable atmosphere.

"Welcome!" An equally pleasant voice called out as he swung the door open, accompanied by a tiny jingle. "Can I get you anything?"

"Uh, yeah, coffee, I guess." Ichigo replied, somewhat off-put by the polite voice, which he now knew belonged to the purple haired girl standing in front of him, dressed in what he assumed was the uniform of Anteiku, with her purple hair covering her right eye from view. The café was empty besides Ichigo, the waitress and a waiter at the counter.

"Cappuccino? Latte?" She asked patiently as she guided Ichigo to a table seat by the window.

Ichigo shrugged, he had very little experience drinking coffee. "What's the best coffee you have?"

The waitress was beginning to get annoyed, but she didn't let it show. That would be bad for business, instead she forced a smile. "I'll ask the manager."

As the waitress turned and left to consult this manager Ichigo relaxed in his seat.

"Hey kid." Ichigo looked over to the counter where the waiter was leaning over the counter and smiling, his brown hair styled into a pompadour that bounced slightly as he leaned forwards. "I haven't seen you around before, you knew in the 20th ward?"

"Yeah, I just got here yesterday." Ichigo replied, slightly hesitant to engage in conversation with the friendly stranger.

"Are you studying at Kamii University? One of our waiters, Kaneki, studies there."

Ichigo nodded as the waitress reappeared and whispered something to the waiter before leaving the near empty café. The waiter set about brewing the coffee as Ichigo watched his experienced hands expertly handle the coffee machine, delicately handling the beans.

"What are you studying?" The waiter continued the conversation as he worked.

"Medicine."

The waiter raised an eyebrow. "Medicine? No offence, but you don't exactly look like a medical student."

Ichigo reaffirmed his scowl and grunted slightly in possible agreement. "My father's a doctor, we've got a family clinic back home. I thought I might as well."

"Back home? You're not from another ward?"

"No, I'm from Karakura town. It's kinda far."

The waiter stroked his chin. "So you're staying away from home, in an apartment, right?" Ichigo nodded and the waiter hummed as he poured the fresh coffee into a porcelain mug, before walking over and handing it Ichigo. "You need a job to pay the rent, from the looks of you, you've just been job hunting, right?"

Ichigo scowled deeper. "Yeah, I've been looking for hours, but I can't find anywhere." The waiter chuckled as Ichigo complained.

"Believe me, we've all been there. It can be a nightmare out there." The waiter leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. "But hey, maybe I can help you get a job here, if you're interested that is."

Ichigo grunted. "I'll take whatever I can get."

"Great! I'll have a chat with Mr Yoshimura, maybe he'll agree to interview you, he probably will, he's a bleeding heart like that." The waiter slapped him in the back and laughed, wandering off into the recesses of the café.

Ichigo sighed, letting his scowl drop slightly. He peered down into the steaming beverage, gently swirling round in the cup. He raised the mug to his lips and sipped.

Blinking at the taste, he took another sip. It was fantastic coffee, it wasn't like he was an expert but even Ichigo could tell it was well made. The heat didn't bother him, he'd felt hotter before.

Soon enough, Ichigo was staring into the bottom of the empty cup, wondering mournfully where the drink had disappeared to.

"Hey!" Ichigo looked up. It was the waiter again, gesturing to the door which he held open. Ichigo stood and walked through the door.

The waiter led Ichigo through to a small room. He stepped inside and the door was closed behind him.

The room was rather plain, but still retained that homely vibe that the whole building generated. A wall of the room was covered in lockers. The window was covered by shutters, and in front of the window, with his back to Ichigo, stood a man.

Ichigo presumed this was the manager. He stood as tall as Ichigo, head held high and arms behind his back with a posture that belonged more on a soldier than a café manager. With his back turned Ichigo could only make out the man's white hair and wrinkled hands.

"So" The manager spoke without turning. "Koma tells me you're interested in a position here at Anteiku. Is that correct?" Ichigo guessed that was the name of the waiter earlier.

"Yeah, that's right." Ichigo replied casually. The man turned then and Ichigo could see his face.

He was smiling, in that kind old grandfatherly way that Ichigo had only ever seen from a distance, and never directed towards him. Yoshimura's eyes were mostly closed but partially open as he looked directly at him. As he thought, Yoshimura was elderly, wrinkled and white hair.

"Hm. Well, I don't see why not. The more the merrier and we'll need extra hands for the cold season." Ichigo was surprised, but then again, Koma did say he was kind, so it wasn't too much of a surprise.

"Thank you, uh sir." Ichigo bowed slightly.

They discussed his part-time hours between attending Kamii and working at Anteiku, and Ichigo left, satisfied with the coffee and his new part-time job.

The day of exploring the streets soon came and went and Ichigo returned to his apartment to retire.

The next day went rather well, Ichigo arrived at University in time, textbooks in order and prepared. Soon enough, Ichigo was dismissed from the classroom and went to go have lunch.

He decided a drop by Anteiku wasn't a bad idea, perhaps meet his new co-workers.

So he felt slight déjà vu when he pushed the door open, a small jingle and "Welcome!" sounded.

"Oh, it's you again. Koma told me you'll be working here now." The purple haired waitress appraised him with her uncovered eye and nodded grudgingly. "Touka, Touka Kirishima."

He nodded back. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Yo! Touka!" A voice called from behind him and Ichigo turned. "Hey, I remember you! You're the new kid, right?"

The voice belonged to a person who Ichigo would normally label: to be avoided. Grinning cheerfully, he held himself loosely with a casual, even informal posture. He reminded Ichigo of Kisuke, the mad shinigami shop owner from Karakura, so that was immediately points against him.

His bright yellow and black jacket with green shorts was a mess of colour. His strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes did nothing to help his situation.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his question. "Yeah, and you are?"

He grinned wider and Ichigo scowled wider. "Hideyoshi Nagachika." He stuck out his hand. "But you can call me Hide." Hide seemed unperturbed when Ichigo didn't return the hand. "Since you're new, I'll buy you coffee, my treat."

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure." And they sat at a seat by the window. Hide soon pulled another chair over, though Ichigo wasn't sure why, there wasn't anyone accompanying Hide. They ordered coffee and light lunch.

"So, you're new in the 20th ward, right? I mean, it would be pretty hard to miss you with that orange hair!" Hide laughed and Ichigo twitched, quips about his hair followed him wherever he went.

"Yeah." Ichigo replied laconically, refusing to engage in the conversation fully, slightly unnerved by Hide's friendliness. Their lunch arrived and Hide continued the conversation as they drank their coffee.

"Ah, I remember being the new kid in town. It sucks, y'know?" Ichigo did know. "I assume you don't know anyone in town right? They'd probably be with you if you did." Hide smiled and looked over Ichigo's shoulder, waving to someone behind him. "Yo! Kaneki!"

Ichigo turned to the door, watching as the newcomer approached the table where Hide had pushed the third chair out for him.

Kaneki seemed average enough at first glance, dark hair and eyes, skinny figure, light blue hoodie. But little things stood out, the most prominent being the eyepatch slung across Kaneki's left eye.

He looked nervous, shifting his weight from foot to foot uneasily, fiddling with the worn spine of the book he held.

"O-oh, uh, hi Hide and um-"

Hide slapped him on the back. Ichigo's eye twitched. It was starting to annoy him, first Koma now Hide.

"This is Ichigo! He's a new student at the University and I heard he's going to be working here at Anteiku."

Kaneki looked slightly distressed when Hide brought up his new employment, reaching up to adjust his eyepatch and looking away. "Oh, really? That's, um, that's great." Kaneki's false cheer didn't fool Ichigo, he doubted it fooled Hide.

Hide turned towards Ichigo. "Kaneki and I are old friends." He smiled fondly. "He still can't get his head of a book."

"Right. I need to get going, Hide. I guess I'll see you at work, Kaneki." Ichigo pushed his chair out and stood, nodding to them before he turned and left.

Kaneki let go of the shiver he held in as Ichigo left. He released a deep breath through his mouth. He sat down at Hide's prompting. He glanced over his shoulder again.

"You okay, Kaneki?" Hide asked, barely keeping his concern from showing.

Kaneki wasn't okay. Not one bit. There was something about that guy, Ichigo that triggered something. He couldn't put his finger on it, it felt instinctive. The hair on the back of neck stood up and he felt like if he didn't bolt out that door right now he'd be dead.

And he didn't know why.

Kaneki had been afraid before, fear wasn't a new concept to him, more so in recent days since he became a half-ghoul. He'd been afraid when Rize tried to kill him, been afraid when Touka threatened him.

But this was more than fear. And Kaneki didn't understand why. He considered that perhaps Ichigo was ghoul, but he'd never felt anything like this without said ghoul revealing their inhuman abilities. Before that point, ghouls seemed pretty human.

He'd have to ask Yoshimura later, but for now he needed to relax.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kaneki lied and Hide hummed, accepting but sceptical. "I think it's time I got going, Hide. I'll see you later."

"Eh? But you just got here!" Hide complained, pouting childishly.

Kaneki sheepishly scratched his head. "Sorry, Hide."

He left, hurrying down the streets and praying he didn't encounter Ichigo again.

Ichigo left the classroom, turning down the unfamiliar streets to reach Anteiku. He was welcomed inside for his shift, handed a uniform and led to a restroom to change.

It was incredibly boring, it was quiet evening and only a few customers trickled into the café before retreating. Ichigo was glad when Touka came and told him his shift was over.

He changed into casual clothes, a black shirt and jeans, and set off into the night with a casual wave over his shoulder.

Ichigo was never afraid of the night. He had always seen the ghosts that lurked, confident in the knowledge that they couldn't hurt him. Even when he knew about the dark spirits that also hid in the shadows, he knew he could fight them.

He still wasn't scared. Hollows didn't bother him since he lost his powers. He was just another human.

That didn't stop the uneasiness he felt.

In hind-sight, he really shouldn't have taken a shortcut, but he really just wanted to hurry home.

The alley was ominously dark, as any other alley was at night. Puddles and bins lined the walls on either side, vermin and rodents watching him pass through their territory. His steps splashed miniature waves in his wake.

Ichigo saw someone approaching from the other side of the alley, he tensed. It would be okay, he knew martial arts, he could fight off a mugger, and it wasn't like he had anything of value on him anyway.

The would-be mugger paused as Ichigo drew closer. The man stood in the middle of the alleyway.

Two others stepped out and stop beside him, effectively blocking the alley for Ichigo.

He turned and saw the same thing had happened behind him. Ichigo cursed, probably just some thugs whose territory he had wandered into.

It gave him pause when he saw the masks they wore.

Hockey masks. Was this some kind of joke or did this gang just really like that one horror movie?

"Well well well. Looks like a little birdie walked into our territory." The leading thug said, voice muffled behind his mask.

"I don't want any trouble." Ichigo replied apprehensively. "Just let me pass."

They laughed.

"You don't want trouble? Then I guess it just ain't your night little birdie." The thug cracked his knuckles. "As of today, the 20th ward belongs to the Psychos."

"Good for you. Now get out the way."

He laughed again. "You just don't get it. If we just let punks like you roam freely in our turf, challenging my authority, the Psychos would never be respected."

Ichigo felt dread building.

"If you want money I've got some cash."

The gang guffawed. "You stupid kid? We don't want no cash."

"What do you want then?"

"Do you even know what we are?"

Ichigo realised why these thugs made him feel afraid.

They wore masks for a reason.

One by one, red lights flickered on inside the eyeholes of their mask. Blood red pupils on a black eye.

Ghouls. Every one of them.

He knew about ghouls. Monsters in human skin that walked the streets of Tokyo looking to feed on anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. The 20th ward was supposed to be safest, ghouls didn't bother the people there. Any that did were soon exterminated by the authorities.

Ichigo gulped.

"Yeah, now you get it don't you?" They approached him in formation, slowly narrowing down on him, leaving nowhere to run. "I'm going to enjoy ripping your guts out little birdie."

The lead thug snarled and leaped at Ichigo, hands extended like claws.

He threw himself away with instincts honed from combat on supernatural levels. Despite his tuned reflexes, Ichigo was still just human.

Fingers aimed to pierce his heart instead grazed his shoulder, ripping cloth and spilling blood.

Ichigo screamed in pain as another thug kicked his leg from behind. Another smashed him into the alley wall, grime and filth smearing the back of his shirt.

He narrowly dodged teeth reaching for his throat by tossing himself to the floor.

He could only dodge for so long, his shoulder burned with pain and each movement was agony on his leg.

They were toying with him, Ichigo realised, poking a rat in a cage. There was no escape.

One of the ghouls landed a heavy punch to his abdomen, lifting Ichigo off his feet and colliding with the opposite wall.

He groaned in pain as they formed a circle around him as he fell to his knees.

The lead thug wrapped a meaty hand around his throat, lifting him against the wall.

Ichigo choked in pain as he clawed at his iron grip, his legs flailed and landed kicks. The ghoul grunted in pain as Ichigo viciously attacked him with his feet.

"Quite the kick you got there." The ghoul squeezed his throat and his kicking was forgotten as he panicked.

Ichigo rasped as his throat was slowly crushed.

"N-no. . ." He whispered.

 _NO!_ He screamed in his mind. _I won't die to you! You can't kill me now! Not after everything I've accomplished!_

 **I CAN'T LOSE NOW.**

Ichigo felt his chest burn with pain, his lungs screamed in agony. His blood pumped desperately, burning like liquid fire in his veins.

His hand dug into the ghoul's grip.

"What the hell?" The ghoul muttered under his breath.

"No!" Ichigo screamed. He threw his head back and slammed forwards, smashing his forehead with the ghoul's.

"Agh! Fuck!" The ghoul cursed and dropped him. "I'll make it extra slow and painful just for that!"

Power flowed through Ichigo's body, his heart beat rapidly like it was trying to burst his chest.

He threw his head back and laughed. A deep maniacal laugh.

"Uh, boss I think you broke him."

The head ghoul snarled and his leg shot forwards to smash into Ichigo's head.

The air whistled as his foot flew. Then was abruptly silenced as Ichigo caught his foot.

" **Now**." He looked up. " **I'm going to rip you to pieces**."

A bone white mask had spread over his face, covering his head and blocking out his bright orange hair. Razor sharp teeth that looked built into the mask, jutted out as he laughed. Sleek red markings flowed over the forehead and around the jaw like streams of blood.

The eye sockets glowed a sinister golden surrounded by an engulfing void of darkness.

"W-what the hell is that thing?" They all took a step back, their own crimson eyes meeting his golden ones.

In an explosion of movement Ichigo darted forwards. The ghoul didn't have time to scream before Ichigo's fist tore through his chest, puncturing his lungs.

Ichigo held the ghoul up, before laughing as he threw the corpse to the floor.

" **Who's next?** " His voice was abnormally deep and distorted from his usual tone.

"You bastard!" One of the braver ghoul roared as he lunged at Ichigo, glowing red blades sprouting from his back.

He stood and allowed the ghoul to approach, blades eagerly extended to avenge his comrade.

The ghoul was within a hairs breadth away when Ichigo brought his knee up, colliding into the jaw of the ghoul, who grunted in pain as he was sent upwards before Ichigo brought his fist down.

His clenched hand smashed into the ghoul's neck, slamming him into the floor as his neck audibly cracked.

"W-what the fuck!" One of the ghoul's turned and ran. Ichigo whipped to face him before tearing after him in a sprint.

The ghoul didn't make far before Ichigo grabbed his arm. He heaved and tossed the ghoul into the wall, which cracked under the force as the ghoul collapsed into a bloody heap.

Another ghoul swiped with a crystallised blade forming from his arm at Ichigo's back. The ghoul howled with triumph as his blade bit into his back and tore his clothes.

He grunted as a jagged cut opened on his back. Before turning and smashing his fist into the ghoul's throat.

The last two ghoul's turned and ran as he slowly fought his way through their fellows.

Ichigo lazily chopped one of them in the neck as they desperately retreated, ignoring the body as he leaped over it and grabbed the leading ghoul.

He pinned the ghoul against the wall in a mockery of what the thug had done to him earlier.

" **It's funny how quickly the tables turn**." He laughed wildly.

"Please! Don't kill me!" Ichigo laughed again.

He pulled his fist back before punching him hard in the abdomen. Then, tossed him to the floor in a murky splash of water.

Ichigo pinned him down by kneeling on the ghoul's chest, he pulled a fist back before smashing it into the helpless ghoul's face. Then again with the other hand.

He brutally pulverised the ghoul, beating his face into a bloody mess.

Ichigo panted as his mask cracked and faded into nothingness, his eyes sinking back into their normal brown. The ghoul was long dead when he finally stopped swinging.

He gasped for breath and stood. Ichigo looked around at his handiwork.

And then vomited.

It was disgustingly brutal. The bodies of his attackers bent into unnatural positions, pools of blood mixing with the filthy puddles of the alleyway.

He turned on his heel, soaked in blood. And ran away.

He soon swung the door open and stepped into his apartment, slamming the door closed behind him.

Ichigo stood there, leaning against the door, panting. Slowly, he slid down till he sat against the door, a trail of blood smeared down the door.

What was that? How did he do that? His powers were gone, that was for sure. Ichigo realised with dread what is was.

His inner hollow.

But he knew was impossible. It couldn't be.

Yet, the mask had appeared. That, he couldn't deny.

The worst part was that he had enjoyed it, being in control again.

It was selfish and just remembering it made him feel guilty. He hadn't even put up a fight, he just accepted it.

But it had been do or die, he had no choice, he didn't stand a chance without it.

Ichigo pulled himself to his feet, dragging himself to the bed, allowing himself to fall asleep.

Trying desperately to forget. To ignore the blood that stained the sheets around him even as he drifted into unconsciousness.

 **END**


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul_

 **Chapter 2**

Ichigo awoke on a bed of red.

A stream of liquid crimson had trickled from the bed overnight, flowing onto the wooden floorboards. His footsteps from the previous night were echoed in caked blood across the floor.

Ichigo's clothes were stained with dry blood, his hands were concealed beneath a layer of the liquid.

He awoke with a start after looking down and sleepily noticing his unusually red surroundings. The air was thick with the scent of rusty copper and decaying life.

Ichigo pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly as he stood. He remembered last night, the alley, and the ghouls. He hoped it had all been a nightmare but seeing his bloodstained apartment made it impossible to ignore what happened.

He called in sick to work and university. Ichigo figured he would need some time to get to grips with the situation.

Numbly, he tore the sheets from his bed, mopped the blood from the floors, showered, and changed into clean clothes before sitting down again.

Ichigo took a deep breath in. Then out.

As much as he wanted to just forget it and keep going, he knew he couldn't simply ignore that he had lost control. It was so unexpected that he hadn't even fully grasped what happened until now.

His inner hollow reappeared. Despite the fact that his shinigami powers were completely gone, the hollow had returned. But he hadn't heard its voice, there was no one whispering in his ear to give in. Ichigo had willingly given in. The ghouls would have devoured him if he hadn't gone berserk, that much was for certain.

The best course of action, he decided, was to return to his inner world. He hadn't tried it for a long time, but this was a sign of some sort, one he had understand before he lost himself to the madness.

Ichigo sat in a meditative pose on the bed, then he closed his eyes.

 _Zangetsu_ he whispered in his mind, the sound echoed like he was sat in an almighty cave. Ichigo pictured the blade in his mind, his brow furrowing in concentration.

A bandaged handle, the white coverings trailing from the edge of the handle, fluttering gently in an invisible wind. The sword widened at the end of the handle, expanding into a ridiculously thick blade. The sword was rather long and seemingly impossible for the average person to wield. The blade slowly tapered into a lethal point as it curved.

The end result was less of a katana and more of a vicious looking cleaver.

Zangetsu was the manifestation of his soul. He had thought the spirit had vanished with his powers but now he wasn't so sure.

Ichigo pushed deeper into his mind. Soon enough, he entered his inner world.

Before, his inner world had been a city of solid steel skyscrapers, built in uniform fashion for miles and miles. The sky was a pleasant light blue and white clouds drifted lazily.

Now, it was a dark moonless light, the clouds were a deep ominous black and clustered together like storm clouds. The steel was somehow rusty and the windows were cracked and broken.

Normally, the personification of Zangetsu would be awaiting his arrival in this world, but the spirit was nowhere to be seen.

Ichigo appeared standing on the side of a building, the laws of gravity had gone out the metaphorical window in this metaphorical world.

He warily glanced around the deserted city, taking in its decrepit state.

Ichigo didn't bother cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Zangetsu!" He called into the void. "Zangetsu! Come out!"

Nothing stirred in response to his shouts.

Ichigo frowned at the silence. He jumped slightly as a shrill sound reverberated from behind him. Turning on his heel, Ichigo spotted an old fashioned phone on the floor, unconnected, yet ringing all the same.

He crouched down and picked up the receiver. "Hello? Zangetsu are you there?"

Silence.

Until a deep, shaking breath sounded from the phone. Ichigo swallowed as whatever was on the other side continued to breath into the phone. He forced himself to listen despite the shivers running down his spine.

"Look." The voice whispered. "Behind you."

The voice hung up.

Ichigo dropped the receiver and turned again.

A door had appeared. Smooth and plain wood with a simple brass doorknob.

"Open." Ichigo looked down. The phone was gone but the voice still whispered in his ear, he stepped closer and gripped the door knob.

It was freezing cold and Ichigo gasped as he grasped it, turning the doorknob. He pushed and the door slowly creaked open.

He stepped into the doorway, into illuminated room.

Ichigo winced at the sudden contrast and covered his eyes. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

He was in a corridor. An incredibly long corridor that seemed to stretch for miles. Ichigo wearily looked behind him.

The door he had entered had vanished and a blank wall stared back at him.

With nowhere to go but forwards, Ichigo began walking down the corridor.

A chilling wind blew through the corridor, invisible fingers ran down his neck.

"Go." The voice whispered in his ear.

Ichigo turned on his heel to only to be met with another wall that had appeared behind him. A drop of sweat ran down his neck. He continued down the corridor.

The feel of smooth cloth on his hand suddenly caught his attention and he stopped.

On the wall was a cloth draped over something, dangling and gently swaying in the cold breeze. Ichigo reached up and grabbed the cloth, yanking it to the floor.

Concealed behind the cloth was a framed picture mounted on the wall.

He recognised the picture. It was of his family, a picture taken years ago, when his mother was still alive, when his sisters were still infants and Ichigo himself was a child.

He was grinning brightly like any other child would be in a family picture, his features far warmer than the ones he saw in the mirror now. Ichigo's father had his own goofy grin spread across his face as he had a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and the other around his wife's waist.

Ichigo's mother was just as he remembered her, warm and calm, looking positively radiant as she held her daughters in her arms. She was the epitome of motherhood. The twins were sleepily blinking and babbling as infants did.

The picture brought a warm feeling in Ichigo's chest. Memories he cherished. But there was something incredibly wrong with it.

He looked again and noticed something.

Their eyes.

The people in picture didn't have their normal eye colours. Instead, their sclera were a deep, endless black and their pupils were a bright gold.

Ichigo shivered when he noticed that little detail. It ruined the entire image, turning it from warm and homely to just disturbing.

As he watched, a red liquid bubbled and leaked from their eyes. Tears of blood ran down their cheeks and dripped onto the frame.

Ichigo jerked back when a drop of blood landed on his foot. He stepped away and began hastily jogging down the corridor.

 _It's just in my mind,_ he chanted to himself, _this isn't real_.

"Ichigo." He flinched as the voice spoke again this time in his mother's voice.

More portraits appeared along the walls, a timeline of his childhood, the little orange haired boy visibly changed when his mother disappeared from the pictures. Slowly more people appeared in the pictures as he aged. His friends.

And they all had those damn eyes!

His jog became a sprint as he passed each picture by. The rivulets of blood became a pool of blood that lapped at his ankles, red splashes erupted every time his feet landed.

"Ichigo." That wasn't his mother.

"Shut up!" He called back.

His panicked footsteps slowed as he reached the edge of the corridor.

Ichigo stopped. The wall before him was covered in a dark mirror. And as he approached, his reflection appeared.

Ichigo blinked in surprise. The reflection blinked back.

Then its mouth slid into a sinister smile. He froze as he watched the monstrous grin grow on his reflection's face.

Then its eyes changed. White became an endless dark void and brown irises became a shimmering gold.

His breath caught in his throat as the reflections skin paled rapidly, at the same time his hair turned from a vibrant orange to a ghostly white.

The invisible hands slowly wrapped around his neck and Ichigo choked in surprise, unable to move.

The reflection drew back and Zangetsu appeared in its hands.

Ichigo watched with a detached numbness as the reflection thrust the sword through the mirror. The blade burst through and pierced his chest. He screamed silently.

Ichigo forced himself to look down at the sword that now protruded from his back. To his horror, the hands that clutched at the wound were as pale as his reflections were.

He looked back at the mirror. The reflection that stabbed him was gone, replaced by a reflection of his current position, malicious smile gone and replaced by his wordless scream.

Just like before, his skin and hair had turned white. His eyes had become gold surrounded by black.

"Ichigo." He whispered to himself.

Ichigo opened his mouth to scream and this time a sound did come out.

It was high and distorted. A bone-chilling screech of abject terror.

Zangetsu protruded from his back and he held the handle.

"Ichigo!"

He opened his eyes.

The corridor was gone. The mirror was gone. Zangetsu was gone.

He was back in his apartment, sitting cross legged on his bed. Ichigo let out a deep shuddering breath. He sat there for a while, until his shivering subsided.

A glance at the clock revealed he had been meditating for three hours. He had been in that place for three hours. Ichigo wasn't an easily shaken person, but just the thought of that place sent a flicker of terror through him.

What scared him most about it, was that it was his inner world. It was a reflection of his soul. That his own soul scared him did not bode well.

Ichigo left his apartment for lunch. Obviously, he couldn't drop by Anteiku, so he'd go somewhere else. He had pulled on a deep black hoodie and lifted the hood to conceal his bright orange hair, it would be just his luck to be spotted by his co-workers. Winter was coming and temperatures slowly dropped, he figured a hoodie wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

Ichigo prowled the streets of Tokyo, searching for a decent meal. He passed the alley from last night.

The CCG had set up a crime scene in the alley and investigators were attempting to dismiss a crowd that had gathered. He decided to stick around and listen, he had to know if the CCG were onto him.

"Investigator!" A news reporter called out, waving her microphone at said official like a weapon. "Can you give us any information on the crime? Was anyone killed?"

"All I can say currently is that we don't have any substantial leads yet, but rest assured, the CCG will find the culprit." Ichigo felt a drop of sweat appear. In his rage he had completely forgotten about forensic evidence. "As far as casualties go, six ghouls were killed."

The crowd surged at the mention of ghouls being killed. "Ghouls, investigator?"

The investigator nodded. "So far all we can determine is that the ghouls were killed in a dispute, possibly territory with a rival gang of ghouls. The causes of death were typical of ghoul victims, blunt trauma especially. However, none of the corpses were devoured by the other ghouls."

Ichigo shook his head and pushed his way through the crowd, jogging away from the scene.

Wandering the streets of Tokyo, Ichigo felt oddly relaxed at the quiet reprieve.

Until he heard the scream.

Loud and definitely female. It was a scream for help.

His head whipped towards the sound. Ichigo ran to the origin of the scream. An abandoned construction site. Ichigo's instincts compelled him to find whoever screamed for help.

He turned corner after dark corner looking for the victim, vaulting across the unfinished walls. Ichigo arrived in a wide open room, where the sun barely reached and he had to squint to see.

Ichigo cautiously stepped forwards. The person screamed again from the darkness. He ran forwards until he could make out someone sitting in the darkness.

He approached slowly. "Hello? Were you the one screaming? Is everything okay?" Ichigo frowned as the person remained silent, head lowered and knees clutched to their chest.

Ichigo moved to touch the unresponsive girl's shoulder, when she grabbed him. He almost leaped back but halted when he realised she wasn't attacking him. She was bawling into his chest.

Incomprehensible babble muffled by his clothes as she cried. Ichigo uncomfortably patted her back before easing her away. "What happened?"

She sniffled. "T-there were some g-ghouls, a-and they tried to kill me!" She burst into tears again.

Ichigo frowned but allowed her to cry. "C'mon, we should get out of here." He reached for his phone. "You said there were ghouls, right?" She nodded. "Okay, I'll call the CCG and you can explain everything."

The girl shook. "I'm so sorry. They made me do it. I'm so sorry!"

"What are you talking about?" He noticed her looking fearfully over his shoulder.

Ichigo began to turn and as soon as he did something barrelled into him, sending him sprawling and his phone skittering into the darkness.

The thing pounced again and he lashed out, desperately swinging until a blow connected and the thing snarled before pulling him up and kicking him viciously in the chest.

Ichigo stumbled back and gasped in pain.

"So" Ichigo looked around, more people had surrounded him in the darkness, their red eyes glowing in the shadows. More ghouls. "You're the one that wiped out the Psycho's, eh? I gotta say, you aren't all that impressive."

Another ghoul snorted. "The Psycho's were pushovers, I'm surprised a weakling like this could kill them though."

"Yeah, I'd like to know how exactly you did that. The Psycho's were pretty pathetic but there were six of them and that alley was pretty damn narrow."

Ichigo spoke up, wincing as his now undoubtedly bruised ribs ached. "How do you know I did it?"

One laughed. "I'm the best tracker in Tokyo, your scent may be invisible for CCG but I found you no problem. All we had to do was set up this opportunity."

The girl from before was dragged closer by hair, sobbing in pain. "Yeah, we just got this little birdie to sing and you came a running. If you're a human, you'd hopefully come to see what happened. If you were a ghoul it would be a pretty great feeding opportunity."

"Considering she isn't dead, I guess you must be human. Or just a really stupid ghoul." They all laughed and Ichigo stood straighter.

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Why? Because I wanted to see if you were a threat." An authoritative female voice came from the darkness and the ghouls surrounding him parted as a new ghoul approached. "Well? Are you?"

"It was in self-defence."

The woman hummed. "We attacked you. Are you going to kill us now?"

"If you let me go I won't have to." He tried to bluff.

"Let you go?" She laughed as she called his bluff. "Do you really think you can kill us?" The female ghoul clicked her fingers. "I know. Hold him down."

A ghoul leapt from the shadows and wrestled him to the ground. Three more grabbed his arms and legs to the floor.

The lead ghoul approached and Ichigo could see her licking her red lips. He swallowed as she kneeled beside him. The ghouls were visibly salivating and Ichigo cursed as he realised what they wanted.

They were going to eat him.

Panic rushed through him as the ghoul leaned down and slowly opened her mouth. He breathed harshly through his nose. He tried to hold it back.

It clawed at him and he squirmed and twitched. Ichigo gasped as the darkness dug its talons into his mind, the ghoul leaned down to bite.

Ichigo gave in.

Suddenly he was back in his ruined inner world and the door was once more before him.

"Open." The voice whispered in the female ghoul's voice.

He reached for the handle, his palms sweaty and shaking uncontrollably.

Ichigo turned the handle and swung the door wide open.

The inner world was gone and he howled. The ghouls strained to hold him down and screamed as white mist leaked from his mouth, dripping from his eyes like gaseous tears. The mist wrapped around his face, solidifying until the mask formed over his face.

Ichigo roared in fury and lashed out, sending the ghouls flying as the lead ghoul hastily retreated. He jumped to his feet and stood opposite from the group of ghouls.

"So this is how you did it." The ghoul was looking him up and down. "Interesting." Her crimson eyes met his cold golden eyes. "What are you?"

He threw his head back and laughed his distorted laugh. Ichigo relinquished his control.

" **Death**."

Ichigo leaped and extended his fist, the ghouls scattered to dodge his attack and he snarled as his fist met empty air.

The ghouls backed away, they weren't fools. Biological weapons burst from their bodies. Kagune, the natural weapons of ghouls. Bloody wings and tails emerged, a few blades erupted from shoulder blades.

Ichigo faced them with his bare fists. They stared at each other in tense silence.

Then he cracked his knuckles.

Both sides burst into movement, lunging at each other, Kagune flying.

Ichigo grunted as he charged headfirst into a Kagune, ignored the deep cuts that formed along his arms as he swung at the offending ghoul who could only widen his eyes in shock.

The reckless charge paid off and the ghoul was sent flying with a satisfying crunch.

Immediately, another ghoul took its place and two more swiped at him from behind, digging deep into his back. Ichigo growled and batted one away as the other danced out of reach while another attacked his front again.

It was like trying to swat flies with his fists, they were always just out of reach and constantly went for his back. They were experienced as a group and easily slipped between each other.

Ichigo barely landed any of his ruthless swipes but those that hit, hit hard. But soon enough he was covered in cuts and his blood stained his clothes.

He roared in pain as a blade pierced his chest. He grabbed the Kagune and pulled it into himself, the owner unwillingly dragged closer.

A swift strike to the neck ended the ghoul that got too close and Ichigo pushed the limp blade from his chest. It was healing slowly but surely.

The other ghouls capitalised on his weakness and all lunged at once.

Ichigo bellowed as multiple weapons stabbed into his limbs, viciously swiping at anything he could.

It wasn't working. There were too many.

Deep within his mind Ichigo pictured the mirror. The reflection's golden eyes were the same as his own yet the other features were fortunately different.

He remembered the blade in his reflection's grip.

Zangetsu. His blade. It was his and he wanted it back.

" **Zangetsu**!" He screamed to the unseen heavens. He called out to his dormant soul.

And it answered.

Bandages slid from his sleeve, wrapping around his wrist, twirling past his fingers, a solid hilt appeared in his hands.

The linen continued past his hands, forming into a familiar long sword. Zangetsu.

Giant butcher knife in hand, Ichigo grinned madly as the ghouls watched in surprise as the bandages fell away and the blade was revealed.

He gripped the hilt with both hands. And swung.

Blood sprayed and limbs flew, Kagune split in half and heads were decapitated. Ghouls were bisected as they attempted to flee.

They screamed and he laughed in response, grabbing the tail of a fleeing ghoul that had stabbed him in the arm. Ichigo yanked on the tail and the ghoul was pulled through the air.

He lazily lifted Zangetsu to be parallel to the ground. The ghoul screeched as the blade pierced through their organs with ease. Ichigo allowed the ghoul to slide down the blade before swiping upwards.

The ghoul flopped to the ground in two halves.

He turned and looked for the survivors. The female ghoul that had prepared to devour him previously was stood behind the hostage girl, Kagune at her throat.

"Don't move or I'll kill her!" It wasn't a bluff.

But he didn't care.

He charged her, Zangetsu ready to stab. The ghoul cursed and sliced her throat in a spray of blood.

The ghoul threw the dying hostage at him and turned on her heel and ran.

Something in Ichigo twitched and he halted his sprint, allowing the body to miss his blade entirely. Beneath his mask, Ichigo stiffened.

She was dead before she hit the ground.

He could have saved her. But he didn't. The ghoul continued running.

A sneer was throw over the ghoul's shoulder as she disappeared around a corner.

Then her head came flying back out the corridor. It rolled to a stop by his foot, her sneer perpetually frozen on her decapitated head.

A man appeared from the corridor. He was elderly with long stringy white hair, he wore a grey trench coat and blood-red necktie.

His cheeks were sunken like a corpse, one eye bulged unnaturally while the other squinted. He carried a simple metal suitcase in his hand.

"Well. What do we have here?" He asked as another less remarkable dark haired younger man appeared behind him. "A little ghoul butcher?"

Ichigo stood in silence, glad the mask covered his head fully. They were CCG investigators. Ghoul hunters.

"Mr Mado, there's a human body." The younger man pointed out the corpse of the girl.

"Ah yes. She must have been the one to make the call." Make the call? Ichigo looked to his feet. His phone, the girl had taken it and called the CCG during the commotion. "Hm. But what are you?"

Ichigo didn't reply and his golden eyes glowed in the sockets of his bone white mask.

"His eyes, Mr Mado, they're not-"

"No. They are most certainly not red. But yellow instead. I wonder. . ."

They studied his mask and Zangetsu in his hand.

"Are you a ghoul?" The older man after he still hadn't attacked them. He almost seemed surprised to see a red pounce but Ichigo slowly shook his head all the same. "Were you the one responsible for the ghoul killings last night?"

Ichigo didn't reply.

"Ah well. I'm sure the boys at the lab can find out what you are." The older man reached for his briefcase. "Amon, aim to incapacitate."

Ichigo turned on his heel and ran. He sprinted down narrow corridors, following his footsteps from earlier. He heard the investigators giving pursuit, their loud footsteps slowly gaining on him.

As he approached a particularly narrow door way, Ichigo paused slightly and stabbed Zangetsu firmly into the ground, effectively blocking the doorway.

Ichigo heard the investigator curse. Zangetsu would hold, it wasn't like they could destroy it.

He ran through numerous alleys, slipping down side streets until he reached his apartment.

Ichigo allowed the mask to fade from his face and distantly he felt Zangetsu fade too. He panted with exertion and immediately stripped off the black hoodie and hid it under a loose floorboard. He was sure the CCG would now be more cautious of people matching his description.

He changed into a navy coat instead and groaned as he realised he still hadn't eaten. Ichigo hurried down to a local supermarket, bought a few cheap microwave meals and returned home.

He decided it was time to lay low, Ichigo planned to stay home for the next day. If the CCG were onto him, it would be pretty suspicious if he was on sick leave at the time of murders. Therefore he would stay home for another day. It wasn't great but it the best he could do to avoid the CCG

Ichigo groaned as realised he could potentially be a suspect for a crime he did commit, even if they were ghouls. Fighting ghouls, avoiding the CCG, when did his life get so screwed up again?

After finishing his meal, Ichigo pondered his fight with the ghouls and the late arrival of a "Mr Mado" and "Amon". They were most definitely investigators, fancy suits and briefcases, they must have been the response team for the 20th ward.

Mado creeped him out but he had that knowing look in his eye as well as the way he held himself just screamed professional. He would remember him. Ichigo didn't know if he'd be able to stop himself if they came after him.

The hollow had reappeared, he had regained some semblance of control and he had been able to summon Zangetsu, at least there was that. Ichigo needed this power, now more than ever. The fact that these ghouls had tracked him and that the CCG now knew of his existence, he needed to be able to protect himself.

Ichigo sat cross legged on his bed and tried to call back the mask. Risky, yes. But he needed to be able to control himself.

He pictured the mask, forming from mist, swirling into a skull-like form over his face. Ichigo gasped as the ghostly mist began to emanate from his pores, flowing over his skin, he could feel his eyes ache as they changed, his fingers curled like claws.

When it was finally over Ichigo panted for breath. The mask seemed to fit perfectly over his face yet it still felt uncomfortable. He looked to the mirror and traced his fingers along the red markings across the mask.

He could feel the hollow pawing at him, weakly vying for control. Ichigo repressed the hollow, allowing himself almost full control. He didn't know how long he could keep this control up in a fight, but by then it wouldn't matter.

Ichigo held the mask at bay, swallowed and held out his hands.

" **Zangetsu**." The blade materialised in his hand. Ichigo lurched forwards, feeling the mask push back with renewed force. He gritted his teeth and held Zangetsu tightly.

Ichigo dismissed the mask and Zangetsu. He gulped in air as the cold mask disappeared and the weight in his hands vanished.

At least he knew his limits now. The mask he could control with difficulty, but Zangetsu would push him over the edge. It would have to be a last resort for now.

Ichigo collapsed in exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep.

 **END**

 _No. This isn't a one shot, but you already guessed that by now didn't you? I don't intend to drop this story at any time soon but you never know._

 _On the topic of OP: in order to balance out his power, Ichigo will lose control in proportion to his power. So far these ghouls are just fodder, more powerful ghouls await. Also, while he may be physically stronger in some instances, Ichigo is slower and is far less mobile than ghouls like Touka._

 _: You're right, chapter 1 was way more rushed than my usual work. I'm going to go back over it and do corrections in the future._

 _FoxyAtTheCorner: That was what I planned to do, so yes._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Why the hell is he here?!"

Kaneki froze, tray in hand as he navigated the café. It was Touka and she was shouting, which wasn't all that surprising to Kaneki. Touka seemed to shout a lot, mostly at him. The sun had set and only Kaneki and the other employees were still around.

Ordinarily, Kaneki would have merely listened a second longer before remembering his manners and walked away in embarrassment for listening in.

It was the reply that made Kaneki linger outside the door Touka's voice had come from.

"He is here because I agreed to hire him." Yoshimura responded and Kaneki frowned.

Touka didn't often get into rows with the manager, Kaneki couldn't think of a moment where anyone had said anything negative about the manager.

But here Touka was, apparently yelling right into his face. Their words caught Kaneki off guard and his breath hitched.

Were they talking about him? Touka had made her reservations about his presence in the café clear numerous times.

"He's not a ghoul! He'll ruin everything!" Touka slammed her hands down and Kaneki flinched at the muffled thump.

"Touka. Do you think Ichigo's arrival in Tokyo and the recent ghoul murders are merely coincidence?" They were talking about Ichigo.

"W-what? You think he did that! That's impossible he's just a human!"

"Touka, I have been around for many years, I know what a human smells like. While Ichigo may appear human, it is obvious he is different."

"What is he then?"

The manager paused.

"I don't know."

"Then why is he here?"

"You know what they say, Touka, keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

"Well, which one is he?"

"We'll just have to wait and see. "The manager solemnly replied. "Until then Yomo will keep an eye on him."

Kaneki hurried away as he heard Touka approach the door. It soon swung open as he slipped around a corner.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Touka left, ignorant to his eavesdropping. Kaneki wandered back on track to his original destination, engrossed in his thoughts.

Ichigo wasn't a ghoul? He assumed the manager would only hire ghouls to keep their cover, but no, Ichigo wasn't a ghoul. Kaneki bit his lip as he realised what that meant.

He would have to be extremely careful around his orange-haired co-worker, lest Ichigo discover what lay behind Kaneki's eyepatch.

Or even worse, if Ichigo was responsible for the killings. Kaneki hoped it wasn't true, but the manager's words and his gut instinct told him that Ichigo was someone to be afraid of.

Someone to be feared. Prey or predator, Ichigo Kurosaki was dangerous.

Ichigo pushed open the door to Anteiku with a slight sense of déjà vu, the small bell tinkling softly as he stepped inside from the pouring rain.

"Yo! Ichigo!"

His eyes flicked to the bar, then to the blonde hair and blinding yellow jacket. Hide waved enthusiastically and grinned.

Ichigo lazily waved back and shrugged off his dripping raincoat onto a radiator. Looking back towards the smiling Hide, he noticed Touka standing beside him, smiling a gentle smile.

Her eyes met his and her smile faltered for a moment before Touka smiled brighter.

"Ichigo, your shift starts soon, you should get changed." She gestured to the door before allowing Hide to slip back into a cheerful barrage of a one-sided conversation.

Ichigo slipped past the duo and pulled the door open. He glanced up the stairs directly in front of him and paused.

Kaneki stood at the top of the stairs, deep in thought as he descended the narrow stair way. Ichigo stood to the side as the smaller teen approached before he finally glanced up.

He nodded slightly to Kaneki. "Kaneki." Ichigo greeted laconically.

"Ichigo! U-uh, I mean, hi." Kaneki nervously replied as he passed Ichigo, who attributed his behaviour to Kaneki's skittish nature, before making eye contact.

Ichigo's brown eyes met Kaneki's black eyes.

Kaneki stared back for a moment before shaking himself and moving on. Ichigo frowned over his in confusion before shrugging to himself and climbing the stairs.

He soon slipped into his uniform and stepped out and returned down the stairs.

Ichigo was met with a near silent room. The low hum of a radiator occupying the room. The café felt vaguely empty without Hide's overbearing voice, instead an uncomfortable silence reigned in the room as Kaneki and Touka worked.

Anteiku was empty aside from Ichigo, Kaneki and Touka, but a feeling of warmth persisted despite the silence.

The pouring rain was merely a muted rattle upon the panes of glass, droplets swiftly sliding down each window.

Touka and Kaneki hesitantly acknowledged his presence before dutifully returning to their tasks. The dull monotony was ended as the door to Anteiku swung open and the bell pinged gently in reply.

Touka immediately swivelled to the door, cheery smile plastered across her face. "Welcome!" She greeted in faux cheer that was so typical of waitresses.

"Touka. . ." Soft-spoken and gentle, the woman at the door was an undoubtedly angelic woman. Light brown hair cast in a braid running down her shoulder, a minuscule frown graced her face.

Buried into her arms was a young girl who Ichigo could only assume was her daughter from their striking resemblance.

"Miss Ryouko!" Touka blinked in surprise before acknowledging their soaking clothes. "Kaneki, Towels!" She snapped in a sudden 180 turn to her previous tone.

Ichigo stepped aside as Kaneki rushed to fetch towels in response to her demand. He observed the tender care Ryouko gave her child as she gently stroked the girl's hair.

It resonated with Ichigo. It was nostalgic, memories surfaces of an ignorant yet blissful childhood in the arms of his own mother.

Ichigo almost smiled.

He looked away when he realised he was staring. Kaneki stepped past him with his arms full of towels curiously watching Touka interact with the duo, revealing a soft side to her that he never knew existed.

She carefully plucked a towel from the pile in Kaneki's arms before offering it to Ryouko as she gently dried her daughter's brown locks.

"Ichigo." He looked up. Touka had turned slightly towards him. "We're running out of coffee beans, go get some more from the storage room."

It was subtle but Ichigo understood that she wanted him gone. He could respect her desire to give the obviously distressed mother space.

He nodded silently in reply before exiting, assuming the request was actually legitimate, Ichigo entered the storage room.

He worked in silent contemplation, scanning each shelf for the coffee beans required. His brief unorthodox introduction to Ryouko brought up more painful thoughts than he was willing to admit to himself. Despite all the years, Ichigo wasn't sure he ever got over his mother's death.

And he wasn't sure he ever would.

A child shouldn't have to see their mother die, but the world is cruel and fate is even crueller. Perhaps that gap was slowly filled over the years, his friends and family ever at his side, supporting him.

But there would always be that feeling. Of rage, an unquenchable hunger that drove him onwards.

Anger at himself, anger at the hollow that took his mother's life, anger at the world. It was his greatest strength but also his greatest weakness.

Because the hollow thrived in his fury and he was a slave to its power.

The hollow was a reflection of his most primal desire for revenge against the world, for bloodlust for the sake of wanton destruction.

And it frightened him. Before, he could have fought back, and he had. But now, he was vulnerable and more than anything it was an unknown.

There wasn't a face to put to the hollow, nothing to blame and pretend it wasn't him doing the killing.

Ichigo paused and sighed heavily, reaching forward to grasp the bag of coffee beans. Turning and leaving the silent storage room, Ichigo slammed the door shut with a little more force than necessary.

It was only a few days later on his shift with Koma when he finally saw it.

"-however CCG can confirm that the murder weapon was indeed a large cleaver-like blade, possibly made from quinque steel."

Ichigo paused momentarily as he heard the reporter's description. He looked up as he placed a mug of coffee before an eagerly awaiting customer.

The TV continued the broadcast, ignoring the awful feeling settling in his gut.

"The CCG investigators present at the scene have indeed confirmed the appearance of this ghoul." The reporter's image was suddenly replaced with a dark picture. "We advise more sensitive viewers to look away now."

With a deep sense of dread, Ichigo slowly recognised the photo. It was him, standing in the darkness, Zangetsu in hand, surrounded by corpses.

They were the ghouls he had slaughtered, and at his feet lay the impaled human teen, the one his recklessness had killed.

His black clothes had mostly blended into the shadows that night, but large tears and splotches of blood reflected shimmering crimson in the dull lighting. Among the vague details of his body, his mask gleamed like a pale moon.

Each red tattoo stood out on the stark whiteness, looking for all the world like rivers of blood flowing down his mask.

Each socket was a void of colour save for the bright golden pupil, murderously glaring the camera.

"This photo was taken by the investigators present at the scene from a concealed breast pocket camera."

Ichigo cursed internally. He had been so careless.

"Whether or not this new ghoul was responsible for the murders committed in the past few days is unconfirmed but evidence has swayed detectives in favour of this line of thinking. "The image disappeared and the reporter returned. "Fortunately, all victims have all been identified as ghouls. Analysis of the scene has concluded that the only human victim was mostly killed by one of this new ghoul's victims."

Ichigo blinked as the tray in his hand wobbled and he shook his head before continuing to place mugs around the room.

"This ghoul has been officially code-named by CCG as "The Butcher". With the addition of a dangerous ghoul to the ranks of others like The Binge Eater and Jason, CCG encourages you to stay safe on the streets and report any suspicious persons to your local branch of CCG."

The report changed topics to a more light-hearted tone and he lost focus.

The Butcher. He had a title now. They'd given him a moniker based on his brutal conflicts with other ghouls.

Cleaver-like blade. Zangetsu wasn't a cleaver, it was his zanpakuto. It was frightening to think that the manifestation of his soul had been described as a weapon of slaughter. Of bloodshed, the weapon of a killer.

"Scary stuff, huh?" Ichigo whipped around in surprise.

"Relax, it's just me!" Koma held up his palms in mock surrender from where he stood beside Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed gently and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry." He grunted unapologetically. "Just thinking about that broadcast."

Koma smiled kindly. "Yeah, it's pretty freaky to think something like that's prowling around at night." He exaggerated a shiver and chuckled deep in his throat. "Don't let that stuff get to you, the 20th ward is the safest place in Tokyo."

"I suppose. They did say all the victims were ghouls so far, maybe the killer isn't going to target humans?"

Koma hummed in thought. "I doubt it. I reckon it's only a matter of time before The Butcher decides it's time for a different kind of meat. "He met Ichigo's brown eyes with a knowing stare.

Ichigo twitched slightly as he stared back, unwilling to break eye contact first.

Koma smiles again. "Ah, well. In any case, it's time for you to get a move on."

"Huh?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Your shifts over, Ichigo. Didn't you look at the clock?"

Ichigo glanced over to the wall and spotted that his shift was indeed over and the afternoon sky had begun its slow transition into dusk.

"I forgot." Ichigo cleared his throat. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Koma nodded and smiled wanly. "See you around."

Ichigo was falling.

The world slipped by in flashes of muted colour, blurring images that flowed like a waterfall.

An endless stream of information passed through one ear and out the other, each only memorable for seconds before they vanished from his mind.

An endless darkness surround his body, a silent wind whipped around him. He was frozen in place, unable to move as he fell deeper into the invisible chasm.

Ichigo fell for what felt like hours. He could turn to face his doom, only comforted with notion that it was swiftly approaching.

Invisible hands clawed at him, rough palms and vicious nails, tearing the flesh from his bones.

A trail of blood followed his descent as a claw tore a bloody line along his arm.

He couldn't scream in pain or protest, nor futilely flail against his aggressors as his body was violently dyed red.

Instead he watched in dull acceptance. He couldn't breathe as another finger ripped a thin line across his throat.

Endlessly he fell, petty wounds appeared across his body.

Until he met the ground head-first with a sickening crunch of bone.

He lay there, unmoving yet alive, as his blood caught up with his landing.

The red liquid splattered across his shredded clothes, seeping into his skin and dripping into his mouth.

Ichigo choked breathlessly, leaning his head forwards until his chin met his chest.

He watched his muscles clench in agony as his chest was impaled. A spear made of shadows nestled where his heart would be if not for the gaping void that had replaced it.

Soon it faded and Ichigo was left staring at the hole in his chest. A violent hiss like a pneumatic pump and a silvery gas flowed from the void in chest.

It slithered across his skin in billowing clouds, before settling over his body. It became a freezing liquid as he was coated in.

Slowly it wrapped around his legs in a ceramic substance, chilling his stiff limbs.

His hands and arms were coated in it.

Ichigo opened his mouth to scream but his throat was frozen.

Suddenly, it was upon him and it covered him head to toe.

And then it was over.

He had no mouth but he tried to scream over and over again.

And again and again and again and again and again.

Ichigo rubbed his eyes for the nth time that morning.

Deep bags had formed under his eyes and his eyelids dropped continuously. A hand steadied him as he stumbled slightly sleepily balancing his tray held in his hands.

"You look terrible." Touka released him as he straightened and crossed her arms.

"Sorry, I-"Ichigo yawned loudly. "I haven't been able to get much sleep."

She appraised him silently as he swayed. Her mouth curved downwards into a frown.

"Well, just make sure you get some soon. You almost dropped that tray." Touka sighed gently. "I'll take care of it, I just know you're going to drop the tray if you keeping going at it." She pointed to the counter. "Tell Kaneki to make a cup for Hinami and bring it to her room."

Ichigo nodded thankfully and passed off the tray before sluggishly meandering in the general direction of the counter.

He dragged his eyelids open and waved wearily. "Kaneki." The teen in question jumped slightly at his voice, looking up from putting the finishing touches on a latte.

"Uh, what is it Ichigo?" Kaneki seemed rather bewildered at the sudden change from Ichigo's normal serious, frowning self to his current languid, docile behaviour.

"Touka said to get a coffee for Miss Fuegechi."

Kaneki seemed to brighten at the mention of the girl. "Oh! For Hinami is it? All right then, just wait a moment."

He set of in a whirlwind of motion and Ichigo's sleep deprived self made little effort to follow his movements.

He stirred from his new position face down at the counter by a hesitant Kaneki peering down at him.

"Tell Hinami I said hi."

"Yeah, sure."

Ichigo straightened and stood before accepting the proffered cup and saucer of coffee with a lazy nod, before turning on his heel and walking off in the direction of Hinami's room.

Fortunately, it didn't take him long to find it. He rapped twice on the unassuming brown door with the back of his knuckles.

"Who is it?" Inquisitive and childlike, the voice could only belong to Hinami, though Ichigo had yet to speak with her.

"It's Ichigo, I've got your coffee for you Miss Fuegechi."

"It's open!" Ichigo turned the door knob and stepped inside, carefully balancing her coffee in one hand.

The room was as warm and welcoming as the rest of Anteiku and Ichigo felt like he could collapse right where he stood.

As it was, he made his way over to the couches where Hinami sat, carefully tracing her finger along the page of a book as she read.

Her brown eyes and hair invoked a feeling of déjà vu in his exhausted mind.

He gently set the china saucer down on the glass table brefore she finally glanced up from her book.

"Thank you."

Ichigo shrugged slightly. "Just doing my job." He turned and began the slow walk back to the door.

"You look really tired."

Ichigo blinked in surprise before turning around again. "I haven't been getting much sleep recently. It's nothing you should concern yourself with."

"Bad dreams?" Her surprisingly empathetic yet juvenile analysis had pin-pointed his problem.

"Yeah, just some bad memories, I guess."

Hinami slid the bookmark between the worn pages before gently closing her book. "Mother said it's very bad for you if you don't get enough sleep."

It definitely felt odd to be mothered by a girl at least half his age. "Thanks for the concern but you shouldn't worry about me."

"No way!" Hinami shook her head vigorously. "You're almost dead on your feet."

It was true, Ichigo could almost feel the gears in his brain grinding to a halt as his legs wobbled incessantly.

"Really, I'm-"he yawned again. "Fine."

Hinami was unconvinced and shook her head. She bit her tongue in thought for a moment before her expression brightened.

"Oh, I know! How about you take a nap here and I'll read to you like mother does when I can't sleep?"

Ichigo rubbed his eyes. The other couch seemed incredibly inviting and he didn't have the energy to win an argument against a stubborn child.

"I can't, I'll get fired if I'm caught slacking off."

"Don't worry, I'll just tell them you were just keeping me company. I'm sure big sister and big brother won't mind."

Ichigo felt like he heard that before but he couldn't be bothered to argue with that logic. He stumbled towards the coach opposite Hinami before collapsing onto the pillows.

He felt his eyelids droop as Hinami began to read aloud in a soft, familiar tone. Ichigo felt his vision darken slowly.

"Thank you. . . Yuzu." He mumbled quietly as his eyes slipped closed.

Hinami paused. "Yuzu?"

But Ichigo had already fallen asleep.

Ichigo watched from the corner of his eye as Hinami and her mother warmly greeted Kaneki and Touka, all smiles and cheer in the cool afternoon.

"Morning, Ichigo!" He blinked in surprise at Hinami's greeting to him from where he stood on the far side of the room.

Ichigo hesitantly waved slightly in reply as he met Koma and Ryouko amused smiles, along with Kaneki's puzzled stare and Touka's raised eyebrow.

He felt slightly sheepish now that Hinami and brought their attention to him and his half-hearted greeting.

Before long, they had looked away and Hinami and her mother left the room.

Touka chastised Kaneki for something or other and they each turned back to their work.

The door to Anteiku slid open with a smooth motion and the bell jingled pleasantly, attracting their attention back to the door.

"Welcome!" Kaneki greeted brightly, eager to greet the customer.

Ichigo twitched when he looked up and saw who stood in the door.

Tall and extravagant, the purple haired man stood in the doorway, wearing an exquisite tailored suit of the most flamboyant red possible. He exuded an aura of charisma and charm.

He inhaled deeply before sighing contently.

"Mm, what a fine aroma." He brought a delicate hand to his face and ran his finger along the bridge of his nose. "I really do feel more relaxed here."

The door swung shut behind him with a thud.

 **END**

 _A/N: At last, I have finished chapter 3. School has kept me incredibly busy in the past month so yeah._

 _Thanks to everyone for the incredible amount of feedback and followers. I am genuinely overwhelmed to see so many people enjoying my story._

 _YOLO, M-Girl and G-Girl: You are entirely correct. Thank you for pointing this out, hopefully this chapter has addressed this issue. In summary, Koma, Irmi and Yoshimura are aware Ichigo isn't entirely human and as mentioned, Yomo is going to be watching Ichigo from this chapter and onwards._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There was something deeply disturbing about the red-suited man. Something that sent shivers down his spine and froze the blood in his veins.

It seemed invisible, hidden behind a layer of immaculate pale skin and soothing smiles. Deep below the surface, rooted to his very bones, there was something incredibly wrong about him.

Ichigo thought that perhaps it was that he looked too perfect. His skin was pale yet revolted against the threat of pallid decay that festered on skin such as his. Yet his skin was smooth and unblemished, like porcelain, thought Ichigo.

Indeed, even his features were crisp and undeniably masculine with a charming smile attached. But there was something wrong about him.

Very wrong.

Ichigo tensed as the man shifted ever so slightly and smiled wider. He moved with the grace of a feline, though whether it was a cat or lion Ichigo couldn't decide.

A thin smirk appeared on his face as he prowled further into the café. He gazed around the room, smirk still firmly attached, quietly studying the room before staring back at its inhabitants.

His deep purple eyes ran over each person as they stood stock-still under his gaze. The eyes widened imperceptibly and he sniffed again, subtly this time, before his grin grew and his eyes rested on Kaneki.

"Tsukiyama."

Tsukiyama's eyes flickered back to the speaker, Touka, whose lip curled in disgust under his gaze.

"Long time no see, Miss Kirishima."

She scowled and looked away. "What the hell do you want?"

"As cold as ever, I see." Tsukiyama smiled calmly in the face of Touka's usual bluntness. Ichigo narrowed his eyes when Tsukiyama's gaze wandered back to Kaneki, and after a moment, to Ichigo. "My, I wasn't aware you acquired new staff."

Ichigo's knuckles clenched as Tsukiyama took several confident strides towards Kaneki. He distantly noticed Kaneki warily lean back without actually putting any real distance between him and the approaching Tsukiyama.

"You new here?" Tsukiyama asked, circling the bewildered Kaneki like a shark. "What's your name?"

"K-Kaneki." The boy in question replied uncomfortably as he turned to face Tsukiyama. Suddenly, Tsukiyama leaned close and sniffed at Kaneki's neck, who jumped back in surprise.

Tsukiyama took it in his stride before smiling once again, he turned his head towards Ichigo. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten your name yet."

Ichigo raised his chin and stared back at the man, despite his usual intimidating factor of his height being worth null on a person of equal height.

"Ichigo." He grunted and refused to divulge more.

His attention was drawn away as Touka frowned and made a dismissive shooing gesture. "God, you're so creepy, just leave already. You're interfering with our work."

"My, how unladylike." Tsukiyama turned away, still smiling, and laid a hand on Kaneki's shoulder, who flinched at his touch. "I'll drop by for some coffee at another time. Sometime when Mr Yoshimura is around."

"O-okay."

"Lovely." Tsukiyama released his invisible grip on Kaneki and sauntered to the door. "Well then, farewell, Kaneki." He threw an empty smile over his shoulder. "And farewell to you too, Ichigo. Perhaps we'll meet again."

The door swung shut behind him and Ichigo's clenched fingers relaxed and he allowed himself to calm.

"Who the hell was that guy?" He muttered quietly to himself.

"He's trouble." Touka replied to his undirected question before staring at Kaneki and Ichigo. "Both of you had better stay away from him. You got that?"

"O-oh, sure, Touka." Kaneki replied hesitantly before glancing at Ichigo and noticing a similar confused expression on his co-workers face.

"What a creep." Ichigo mumbled to himself, before glancing at the clock. "Crap, I better get going. Class is starting soon." He walked into the café's bathroom and slipped out of his work clothes and into a casual jacket and jeans.

He nodded stoically to Kaneki and Touka at the counter as he left. Jogging down the street, his thoughts strayed from his classes and back to Tsukiyama and the shivers that man sent down his spine.

His mind wouldn't stop, even during his class he thought of the encounter. Ichigo frowned distractedly as he pushed open the doors of the lecture hall, absently strolling through his routine of exiting the building.

By the time he had shut his apartment door behind him, Ichigo was sure of one thing.

Tsukiyama was not human.

It would have been rather hypocritical of Ichigo to assume Tsukiyama was a ghoul, given the assumptions made about himself on the news.

It occurred to Ichigo how predatory Tsukiyama acted, prowling around the cafe, circling Kaneki like a vulture and . . . . sniffing him.

Ichigo shivered when he realised that Tsukiyama had likely been looking for a meal and judging by his interest in the dark-haired bookworm, he had found what he was looking for.

He frowned deeper as he recalled Tsukiyama's offer for coffee to Kaneki and his hesitant acceptance. He'd definitely have to watch out for Tsukiyama, Ichigo doubted that Kaneki's naïve mind would be able to truly see through Tsukiyama's mask.

Ichigo pulled off his coat as he thought, slipping his shoes off and meandering further into the recesses of his moderately lit apartment.

He strolled mindlessly to the window, reaching up to pull the curtains down.

Then he frowned.

Momentarily pulled from his reveries, Ichigo glancing at the curtains in thought. He could have sworn they were already down.

Ichigo wasn't paranoid, but he wasn't stupid either. He leaned forwards and tugged the curtains thoughtfully.

No. He had definitely left them down that morning before he had left the apartment. Ichigo bit his lower lip and stepped closer to the closed windows.

He reached forwards and pulled the handle of the window frame. As he expected, it didn't move. His gaze wondered to the frame again, following the edges.

They weren't fully closed and he could feel a slight draft emanating from between the gaps between the window frame.

Ichigo frowned. It was definitely possible that he hadn't fully closed the window that morning, but even so, his suspicions were raised now. He turned the window handle and pushed it open before leaning his head out the window.

Glancing at the window sill, his eyes narrowed, boot prints. And, now that he looked closer, hand prints on the outer side of the window frame.

The boot prints were slightly dirty and stood out on the nearly clean white colour of his window sill. The handprints didn't have visible fingerprints but the shape of the hand was impressed into the dust of the outer frame.

Someone had been in his apartment.

Either they were incredibly unprofessional, leaving accidental clues in their clumsy entrance, or suddenly rushed enough for an equally clumsy exit.

The time of their entrance could be anywhere between when he left that morning to the when he had walked into his apartment deep in thought not ten minutes ago.

Damn, they could have been pulling the window closed behind them while he was sliding the key into the lock..

Ichigo half-heartedly searched his apartment for possibly missing valuables, hoping this whole thing was just some random idiotic burglar.

He found nothing else out of place and sighed to himself.

Damn. Someone really had broken into his apartment.

Why and who were entirely different questions though. It's wasn't as if he had made many enemies in Tokyo, during his encounters with ghouls his face had been covered by his mask. Even so, breaking and entering wasn't typical ghoulish behaviour as far as he knew.

Calling the police didn't sound like too hot an idea, considering the CCG wanted posters for his masked self all over the news.

Ichigo closed the window and stepped back. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Resigned to the fact that he wouldn't get any answers, Ichigo decided to sleep on it.

…

He slept dreamlessly that night.

Morning came all too soon, light traipsing through the breach in the curtains and flowing into the room, his alarm screeched into his ear and he rolled off the mattress onto the cold wooden floorboards.

All in all, it was a terrible way to wake up.

Ichigo grunted, pulled himself to his feet and went about his morning ritual, rubbing his head in mild pain. He left late in the morning for his Saturday shift at Anteiku, haggard and unsettled as he was.

Anteiku was more populated than he had seen it before. Customers sat and quietly chatted it an almost conspiring manner, casual domestic conversation that seemed almost trivial to Ichigo. Despite that, there were some alarming whispers passing through the air as he walked towards the counter.

"-another dove in the 20th ward."

"The streets just aren't safe anymore-"

"I'm scared to go out alone."

Snippets of whispers floated by his head, paranoid and fear-mongering as terror was wont to inflict upon everyday chatter. Ichigo tuned out their exaggerated worrying and joined Kaneki behind the counter.

He inclined his head slightly to the shorter boy and raised an eyebrow when he received no response. Looking closer, Ichigo spotted the beginnings of dark shadows beneath Kaneki's eyes and an air of restlessness around the boy.

Ichigo frowned gently and set about washing out coffee cups, seeing as every customer had already been served. They both stood in silence as the background noise filled the air with the sound of numerous soft voices.

"Kaneki." Ichigo glanced to the side where Yoshimura stood beside an unfamiliar dark-haired woman. "Kaya and Ichigo will take care of you and Touka's shift for today." Yoshimura glanced towards Ichigo, who nodded in solemn affirmation.

"Oh, okay. But sir, where's Touka?" Kaneki replied hesitantly, glancing towards the now identified Kaya.

"She's sick today, so I'm standing in for her." Kaya replied with an easy smile as she picked up a tray and approached a customer who had just entered the door. Kaneki glanced back at Ichigo timidly.

Ichigo leaned against the counter as he cleaned a mug with a cloth and made a dismissing gesture with one hand. Kaneki smiled hesitantly back at him and followed Yoshimura's suggestion to visit Touka upstairs.

Kaya approached the counter and Ichigo stood up straighter. "Hey, I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Kaya Irimi." She extended a hand and which Ichigo grasped and shook.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He inclined his head respectfully as he went about cleaning out another mug. Kaya raised an eyebrow at his short response.

"A man of few words I see?" Kaya replied teasingly and laughed gently as he grunted sullenly. "Oh relax, I'm just teasing you."

Ichigo's lips twitched as they both continued working. At some point, Ryouko Fuegechi came bustling down the stairs into the café, giving a gentle wave to Ichigo and Kaya as she left, sans one daughter, Ichigo noticed.

The door opened again and a girl with hair the colour of hazelnut in a short bob entered, wearing an odd pink coat and carrying a large cooking pot. She strode purposefully and cheerfully into Anteiku, smiling all the while as she lugged the cookware with her.

The girl approached the door leading to the stairwell and paused, before turning to regard Ichigo. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I'm Ichigo, I only just started here recently."

"Right. I'm Yoriko." She tilted her head to the side slightly. "Do you know Touka at all?" Yoriko asked inquisitively.

"Only a little."

"Oh, of course." She seemed to deflate a little but brightened soon after. "Well, I heard she was feeling a little under the weather and since she wasn't at school I made her some dumplings!" Yoriko held up the pot and Ichigo inhaled a whiff of the food inside.

Ichigo faltered as he smelt the positively inviting aroma that seeped out around the edges of the lid, the escaping steam wafting into his dazed mind. "Uh, whoa."

Yoriko giggled at his bemused reaction and smiled brightly at him. "Good, right?"

"Uh, yeah definitely." Ichigo coughed into his hand again to conceal the drool he feared would spill out in his confused haze. "Touka's just upstairs."

"Right." Yoriko smiled victoriously, having won a point over the solemn Ichigo. She climbed the stairs as Ichigo shook his head in reluctant amusement. Ichigo handed a cleaned coffee mug to Kaya absently as she brewed a cup for customer, then silently passed it off to a delighted customer before returning to the counter.

His head snapped back up as the door to the stairs swung open again. Yoriko stormed back into the café, minus the cooking pot she had paraded previously. Ichigo wilted slightly at the lack of cooking pot but mentally chastised himself and straightened as Yoriko approached.

"I just can't believe her!" Yoriko fumed. "I go out of my way to make sure she gets a delicious meal, just to find that she's not even ill, but playing hooky with her boyfriend! A boyfriend she didn't even tell me she had! I mean, come on! We're best friends and she didn't tell me!"

Ichigo winced as Yoriko ranted aloud, crossing her arms in front of her and scowling. A scowl that Ichigo felt slightly impressed by for some reason. He held his hands up placatingly.

"Hold up, Yoriko, what boyfriend?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, it wasn't any of his business but Touka had never seemed like a people person to him.

"Some dark-haired guy with an eyepatch." She snorted. "He looks like a total idiot."

Ouch. Yoriko must have seen Kaneki in Touka's room and gotten the wrong idea despite her pure intentions. He'd have to be careful about how he defused this one, Yoriko looked like she was on a hair trigger as it was.

"Uh, I don't think that was her boyfriend." Ichigo suggested as put a coffee mug down and faced Yoriko. She turned her frown to him.

"What?" Yoriko asked in a low, almost threatening voice, despite her completely not at all intimidating appearance, pink coat and all.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's just Kaneki, he's another new guy here. I think he was just checking to see if Touka was alright, you know?"

Yoriko had the decency to flush in embarrassment as she realised her mistake. "Oh. Oh dear. Um, are you sure?" She asked hesitantly and Ichigo nodded. "Oh. Uh, I probably shouldn't have said that then."

"Uh, listen, I'm sure Touka will forgive you if you just . . . give her some space." Yeah right, Ichigo thought, Angel of forgiveness Touka was not. "Maybe just make some more food for her when she gets back to school, as an apology." His stomach grumbled at the thought of more of Yoriko's food.

She giggled as he turned away to cover his sheepish expression after his stomach gave him away. "Ichigo, I'd be delighted to cook for someone who actually wants to eat it. You only need to ask."

"Oh, right. Well, if you don't mind that is. . ."

She laughed and Ichigo smiled slightly. "Of course I don't mind!" Yoriko turned to leave and glanced over her shoulder at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo watched her go before dropping his head as he realised what he had been suckered into. Kaya smirked as she passed him by, whistling innocently. "Not a word." Ichigo demanded, glaring holes into Kaya.

"Didn't say anything!" Kaya singsonged as she walked past him, coffee in hand.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ugh."

…

"Hm?" Ichigo frowned in confusion and strained his ears again. Once again, he heard a distant hum of music, despite the lateness of the hour and moonlight staining the streets of Tokyo. He paced closer and closer through streets and alleys curious to locate the source of the mysterious sound.

Ichigo paused, mid-stride, as he recognised the mysterious music.

"Beethoven. . ." He murmured to himself in bewilderment. Who could possibly be playing such an ostentatious anthem at this time of night. Ichigo followed his ears like a bloodhound, now decidedly determined to find the source of the music.

Not once did he ponder how he heard such a chorus from so far away. But neither did he notice the flashes of yellow eyes in his reflection.

Ichigo finally found the source of his intrigue. A church. A rather small Church, almost insignificant beside its towering neighbours. He stepped closer before sidling up to the side of the church, hidden amongst an alley, Ichigo peered through a window which was just about neck-height and watched.

Through the window, Ichigo could see nothing wrong with the church and indeed everything appeared to be in order. That was at least, until he glanced toward the altar.

Lying upon the altar was a young woman, whose form lay still, surrounded by candles. Ichigo blinked in surprise and almost fell back from the window before recovering. He looked further to see the perpetrator, sitting at the organ, wicked fingers masterfully dancing across the ivories, as Beethoven's familiar music erupted from the instrument.

From his deep purple hair and flamboyantly garish garb, Ichigo had a fairly good idea of who played that hauntingly beautiful tune. Touka's words flittered through his mind.

" _He's trouble. Both of you had better stay away from him. You got that?"_

What did she mean by that? Tsukiyama was hardly the most intimidating being he'd ever encountered, creepy as hell sure but nowhere near threatening. Tsukiyama and Touka had history, that much was obvious.

Was he a criminal? That seemed rather likely. Touka seemed like the kind of person who'd seen tough times, so them having history might make sense. And it would explain why he had a young woman unconscious on the altar. Had he just stumbled into a kidnapping.

In his thoughts Ichigo hadn't realised anything had changed until the sound of Beethoven abruptly ended.

He blinked in confusion before turning his head to stare at Tsukiyama's new distraction.

Standing at the church door, in a turquoise hoodie and eyepatch, was Kaneki.

 **END**

 _Yes, I'm back in black_


End file.
